Nokia

There’s a new Android launcher out this week by the name of Z Launcher, created by Nokia for the public to work with Android in a new intelligent way. Nokia’s hardware division may have been purchased by Microsoft, but their software teams are still in full swing, creating oddities like Z Launcher for the public to use and enjoy.

Windows Phone is primed for a serious update, but can it make headway into the mid-range market? With Android holding sway in the “lesser-than” category, Microsoft aims to move into their territory via the Nokia Lumia 630. A decidedly mid-tier phone, it’s got some bite, but enough to stand up to those like the Moto G? We go hands-on to find out.

Nokia's HERE division won't be happy until its maps are the navigation equivalent of Skynet, with news that it's acquiring predictive analytics specialist Medio for the next generation of "cognitive mapping." Medio's technology will be baked into HERE Maps to deliver real-time personalization, so that drivers, pedestrians, and others using the apps will get relevant suggestions - whether that's somewhere nearby to eat at lunchtime, or which is the most fuel-efficient route - without having to ask for them first.

Nokia's giant Lumia 1320 phablet has arrived as a prepaid offering at Cricket Wireless in the United States, giving Windows Phone enthusiasts a giant (but no less colorful) handset option. The phone will arrive both online and on store shelves (Cricket store shelves, that is) this coming Friday.

The Nokia XL is an interesting workaround to Android, and that’s just how we’re phrasing this device. At nearly every turn, the Nokia XL attempts to break Google’s hold on Android. Meant for the emerging market, we went hands-on to find out if Nokia was onto something with the XL.

Companies like Motorola and Microsoft want you to have smartphones, but don’t seem to want you to touch them. Motorola’s always-on listening mode gave us hands-free search, and a new report suggests Microsoft is trying to do something similar. Relying on gestures, a new handset may end up being the one you set down and never pick back up.

Nokia's HERE division has snapped up Desti, promising to add artificial intelligence to its future maps to help travelers get exactly the type of hotels, restaurants, and other POIs they want, whether it be for family trips or business. Desti - spun-off from the same team responsible for coming up with Siri - is a search engine for travel, using natural language processing and pattern learning to give advice in a way HERE says will eventually turn its apps into personalized virtual travel agents.

The Nokia X we got our hands on back in February will be getting an upgrade in the near future, with leaks cropping up for a Nokia X2. According to an AnTuTu benchmark that has surfaced, the X2 will be similarly low budget like the current iteration, but will bring with it a larger screen, among other things.

There’s more than one way to get where you’re going, and there’s more than one app to navigate it, and if Telenav and OpenStreetMap have their way it’ll be the power of the crowd not locked-up, heavily licensed data powering it all. SlashGear caught up with Steve Coast, founder of OpenStreetMap and currently OSM lead at Telenav, to find out what’s next for the team aiming to put Google Maps and Nokia HERE on notice, and democratize mapping in the process.

It would appear that the newest Windows Phone 8.1 update brings on a rather key element in the high-resolution photos department to the platform. Though we’ve not been able to push the update correctly yet (it would seem), sources like WPCentral have found an added setting in the newest build of Windows Phone 8.1 that adds automatic uploads of Best Quality photos to OneDrive.

Nokia has announced the launch of its budget handset, the Lumia 630. The phone is set to hit shelves in Asia this week, and will be followed up with launches in both the United States and Europe. Unfortunately, no specific dates have been provided.

Google is still actively pursuing self-driving car commercialization, though Sergey Brin's 2017 prediction may not come true as the company continues to develop their safety features and the high-definition mapping they need for successful navigation. Last year, Brin said he envisaged autonomous car tech being on the market within five years, though a new batch of hands-off test-drives suggest that not only is there still some ways to go before that's practical, but that Google is taking a markedly different approach to other self-driving projects.